Love and Peace
by Kouga518
Summary: Micheal wants to apologize to Rikku for what happened. So Paine comes up with an idea of how he can. Continuation of 'Friends'. RikkuPaine Pairing.


A/N: I'm back from my down time as of now. And as such, I believe a celebration of hilarity should follow my return. So, with the assistance and an idea from a friend of mine, I've written this little fiction.

NOTICE: This fiction follows the events after 'Friends', so if you haven't read it first, do so. Otherwise, this fiction probably won't make a whole lot of sense. And as always, it's a Rikku/Paine story. If girl on girl pairings bother you or make you break out in hives, then stop now and hit the back button. Otherwise, enjoy.

**Love and Peace**

"_The streets are unusually busy for this time of the morning_." Paine thought to herself as she browsed the windows of the shopping district in Luca. She had woken up early that morning, mainly due to Rikku's snoring. For a thief, she knew how to make some noise. Paine couldn't get back to sleep after that, so she just decided to get dressed and go for a walk.

"_Though I could have just tossed HER out of the bed to get her back..._" Paine smiled to herself. Though had she done that, Rikku would have put on her sad puppy dog face. For some reason, Rikku could win any argument so long as she had that face on. But it didn't matter, she was enjoying her early morning walk. There was still plenty of the early morning dew in the air, which made it a refreshing morning.

And she had also made a couple of clothing purchases. Shopping early meant no lines, so she could browse the stores longer. Satisfied with her purchases, she began heading home. Paine knew if she wasn't home soon, Rikku would think she'd run off on some little adventure without her. Paine had just turned down the block when she almost ran over a confused looking man.

She was about to apologize to him when the man looked her square in the face. Her eyes narrowed into a death glare as soon as she realized who he was.

"Micheal!" she hissed.

Micheal fell over backwards onto his rear in fear as she hissed out his name. He began giving Paine a fearful look and held his hand in front of his face.

"No, don't hurt me! I was meaning to find you for a while! I just...well...I" Micheal began darting his eyes from side to side, as if he was looking for the right word.

Paine stood there tapping her foot impatiently on the ground, glaring at the man. "You've got 10 seconds to say what you want or your getting hurt." She usually tried not to revert back to her old habits, but she was willing to make an exception in this case. She hadn't forgotten what he had done to Rikku, and she was still mad about it.

Micheal seemed to know this also, as just as she finished her sentence, he spoke again. "I'm sorry!"

Paine arched an eyebrow at him and spoke. "I beg your pardon?"

Micheal drew in a ragged breath again and said, "I'm sorry what I said at the party last month. I was drunk and stupid. I'm really, really, REALLY sorry!"

Paine kept glaring at him, "You're going to have to do better than that."

Micheal looked at her with a quizzical look on his face, but before he could say anything, she cut him off. "You offended Rikku more than you offended me. You need to apologize to her. And you better make it good. Or else."

Micheal gulped at that last line and managed to squeak out a question, "Well, do you have any advice. I really want to make it up to her."

Paine scratched her chin for a moment, then her eyes lit up. As they did, a devilish smile crossed her lips. Michael gulped again and spoke, "Somehow, I know I'm not going to like this."

+++ Rikku and Paine's home, sometime later (Rikku's POV)+++

Rikku had just finished brushing her teeth when she heard the door close downstairs. She ran down to see Paine standing there with a big grin on her face. Rikku gave her a big kiss and looked at her again, only to see the grin get wider.

"Okay, so are you going to tell me why your so darn happy?" Rikku said.

Paine scratched her chin and said, "Maybe."

Rikku began to bounce up and down impatiently as she replied, "Come on! I wanna know, I wanna know!"

Paine let out a fake sound of resignation and said, "Oh alright, you win. I'll tell you. But you have to go back upstairs for a minute."

Rikku bounced up and down with excitement, "Okay, okay! Just don't keep me waiting!"

As she bounded up the stairs, she heard Paine start talking to someone who standing outside the front door.

"Alright, you can come in now. And remember what I said. Make it good."

The second voice sounded like a man's voice, though she couldn't tell who it was, "Are you sure I can't do something else. I look, no, I AM ridiculous in this thing!"

"Well, you could just leave. But you'll have to run, cause I'll chase you all throughout town. You really want to run through town wearing that, with those shoes?" Paine suppressed a laugh.

There was a very audible sigh heard, "Alright, let's get this over with."

Then there was a shout, "Okay Rikku, you can come on down now."

Hardly able to contain her excitement, she practically jumped down the stairs, only to be greeted with the most amazingly funny thing she'd ever seen in her life.

+++Paine's POV+++

Rikku obviously knew who it was, but it didn't seem to bother her. She was on the ground laughing, probably so hard her sides hurt. Micheal stood there in their house, wearing a bright pink dress and red high heels. He even wore a vibrantly pink wig with a purple ribbon, and had bright pink spots painted onto his cheeks. He looked like a clown, but he wore the biggest frown in the world.

Paine couldn't help but laugh herself. And hopefully after this, he'd learn not to get so drunk he couldn't control what he said to people. Through her laughter, she managed to say something.

"Michael, I think you have something to say to her, don't you." Paine barely managed to say that before she broke out into another laughing fit.

Micheal let out a very loud sigh, which instantly stopped the two's laughter. "Yes, I do." He let out a very long and loud sigh this time. "Rikku, I just came to say this." He cleared his throat in a course, hesitant way.

"I'm a little girl. I wear ribbons in my hair. And..." This sigh probably broke some kind of world record somewhere, "...I like to kiss all the boys." He hung his head in embarrassment.

The two women both fell over laughing this time. He just stood there for some time while the pair of them laughed themselves into a stupor. Paine was laughing so hard she was crying.

She managed to stand up finally. "_This has got to be the BEST apology ever!"_ She thought with a devilish grin.

As Rikku finally stopped laughing, she managed to stand up, wiping tears away from her face.

Micheal spoke again after the two were done laughing, "Rikku, what I really mean to say is that I'm sorry. I was a drunken fool who wasn't thinking. Can you forgive me?"

Rikku walked over and gave him a hug, "Sure I can. Just next time, lay off the booze some, okay?"

Michael scratched the back of his head and smiled, "Heh, you got it. Now, uh, can I take this off now Paine?"

Paine scratched her chin for a minute, pretending to think about it. Micheal just gave her a look and said, "Ah come on Paine! What else do you want me to do?"

Paine just laughed and said, "Just pulling your leg."

Both Micheal and Rikku shouted, "MEANIE!"

All three of them laughed, and spent the rest of the day partying, well into the evening hours. But as a precaution, Paine hid the alcohol. "_Better safe than sorry_"

Ending A/N: I hope you enjoyed! Besides, I had to humiliate Micheal somehow, didn't I?


End file.
